The San Carlos Foundation

Mural painted by kids at a San Carlos project in Arambala,
Morazán, El Salvador, under volunteer Claudia Bernardi

We provide health and educational assistance to refugees and other people
living in extreme poverty in the developing world, particularly in Central America.

We grant minimal living expenses—currently $6,000 a year—
to doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, teachers and other professionals
who volunteer their time, live in primitive conditions
and train local people to continue their work when they leave.

San Carlos is run by an unsalaried board of directors and has no paid staff.
Minor administrative costs are assumed by board members,
so 100% of all donated money goes to the workers in the field.
San Carlos is nonsectarian and nonprofit, and all donations are tax-deductible.

With hundreds of years of collective experience working in developing countries,
our board members know how to choose volunteers who will have the maximum impact
with limited resources. The Foundation has supported a total of 135 volunteers
since 1984, including Ben Linder, the 27-year-old American engineer
who was killed by the Contras in Nicaragua in 1987.